Cuba’s migration policy updated

Cuba’s migration policy updated• Amendments will come into force on January 14th, 2013

As part of the work undertaken to update the current migration policy adjusting it to prevailing conditions in the present and the foreseeable future, the Cuban government has decided to forgo the required Travel Permit as well as the Letter of Invitation.

Therefore, as from January 14th, 2013, it will only be necessary to submit the ordinary passport, duly updated, and the visa issued by the country of destination, in those cases when it is required. The ordinary passport will be issued to the Cuban citizens who meet the requirements of the Migration Law, as modified in compliance with these provisions. Such Law will come into effect ninety days after its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba.

Those already in possession of an ordinary passport, issued before this decision is valid, should request from the corresponding authorities of the Ministry of the Interior its updating absolutely free of charge. Likewise, those with a valid Travel Permit will be able to depart without any additional procedure.

It has also been decided that Cuban residents travelling overseas on private affairs will be permitted to remain there for a period of twenty-four months, counting from the date of departure. For a longer stay, they will be required to obtain the corresponding evidence of extension of stay from a Cuban consulate.

The updating of the migration policy takes into account the right of the revolutionary state to defend itself from the aggressive and subversive plans of the US government and its allies. For this reason, those measures aimed at preserving the human capital created by the Revolution from the theft of talents practiced by the powerful nations shall remain in force.

In due course, other measures related to the migratory issue will be adopted that will certainly help in the consolidation of the efforts being made by the Revolution towards the full normalization of Cuba’s relations with its emigrants.

Today, the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba is publishing the Law Decree of the State Council modifying the current Migration Law as well as other supplementary regulations.

Additional information on the procedures required by the law and other specificities concerning the country’s migration policy are available to the people at the Dirección de Inmigración y Extranjería and its voice message through phone number 2063218; Portal del Ciudadano Cubano: http://www.ciudadano.cu; and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba: http://www.cubaminrex.cu.

For those who may not like the original source, here's the AP version of the story Source

An interesting move by Cuba. This is something that I've seen as an issue for Cuba for some time, yet the brain drain problem is a very real problem for the island (especially considering the US's policy on Cuban migration). It's good to see that there are caveats to the policy change, but like some of the market reforms, this is a potentially problematic development.

I'm not sure there's much migration to Cuba. This trend has economic roots (employment being guaranteed removes the incentive to increase the pool of the reserve army of labor to undermine the power of labor for example)